Women Becoming Priests Despite Catholic Law

The Roman Catholic Church may forbid women to become priests, but that’s not enough to stop some of them from being ordained.

More than 100 women have been ordained in a secret movement called Roman Catholic Womenpriests since it began in Germany in 2002, NPR reports. Two thirds of them now live in the United States.

According to the media organization, four women were ordained earlier this month in Maryland, with Catholic nuns and priests on hand, even though witnessing such an event could lead to excommunication. NPR reports that members of Womenpriests have been threatened and have lost the support of church officials who are afraid of losing their own jobs if they back the movement.

Patti LaRosa, one of those ordained, tells NPR she knows the movement is against church law, which allows only baptized males to become priests. But, she asserts, "when you have an unjust law, sometimes it needs to be broken before it can be changed."